The boys went off to get some fresh stream water for drinking. Anne got out some plates and cut slices of the cake.

“Well,” said Mr. Luffy. “Had a nice walk?”

“Yes,” said Anne, “except that we met a queer one-legged man who told us he saw spook-trains.”

Mr. Luffy laughed. “Well, well! He must be a cousin of a little girl I know who thought she was sitting on a volcano.”

Anne giggled. “You’re not to tease me. No, honestly, Mr. Luffy, this old man was a watchman at a sort of old railway-yard — not used now — and he said when the spook-trains came, he blew out his light and got under his bed so that they shouldn’t get him.”

“Poor old fellow,” said Mr. Luffy. “I hope he didn’t frighten you.”

“He did a bit,” said Anne. “And he threw a cinder at Dick and hit him on the head. To-morrow we’re going to the farm to ask the boy there if he’s heard of the spook-trains, too. We met an old shepherd who said he’d heard them but not seen them.”

“Well, well — it all sounds most interesting,” said Mr. Luffy. “But these exciting stories usually have a very tame explanation, you know. Now would you like to see what I found to-day? A very rare and interesting little beetle.”

He opened a small square tin and showed a shiny beetle to Anne. It had green feelers and a red fiery spot near its tail-end. It was a lovely little thing.

“Now that’s much more exciting to me than half a dozen spook-trains,” he told Anne. “Spook-trains won’t keep me awake at night — but thinking of this little beetle-fellow here certainly will.”

“I don’t very much like beetles,” said Anne. “But this one certainly is pretty. Do you really like hunting about all day for insects, and watching them, Mr. Luffy?”

“Yes, very much,” said Mr. Luffy. “Ah, here come the boys with the water. Now we’ll hand the cake round, shall we? Where’s George? Oh, there she is, changing her shoes.”

George had a blister, and she had been putting a strip of plaster on her heel. She came up when the boys arrived, and the cake was handed round. They sat in a circle, munching, whilst the sun gradually went down in a blaze of red.

“Nice day to-morrow again,” said Julian. “What shall we do?”

“We’ll have to go to the farm first,” said Dick. “The farmer’s wife said she’d let us have some more bread if we turned up in the morning. And we could do with more eggs if we can get them. We took eight hard-boiled ones with us to-day and we’ve only one or two left. And who’s eaten all the tomatoes, I’d like to know?”

“All of you,” said Anne at once. “You’re perfect pigs over the tomatoes.”

“I’m afraid I’m one of the pigs,” apologised Mr. Luffy. “I think you fried me six for my breakfast, Anne.”